IALL (1964-2000) Constitution and Bylaws

IALL (1964-2000) Constitution and Bylaws Here is the revision history of the IALL Constitution and Bylaws:

Original Document: 1964

First Revision: 1966

Second Revision: 1969

Third Revision: 1974

Fourth Revision: 1977

Fifth Revision: 1981

Amendments: 1984

Sixth Revision: 1991

Seventh Revision: 1995

Eighth Revision: 1997

The following is the eighth revision of the constitution and bylaws of the former IALL organization. In March 2000 the membership voted to merge its membership and assets into a newly formed corporation, IALLT, Inc., thus ending the provisions of these documents. However, the purposes, membership, and operations of the new organization continue unchanged. This document consists of two parts, namely the Constitution and the Bylaws. The provisions of each are established for the regulation of the affairs of the International Association for Language Learning Technology. If there should be any inconsistency between the Constitution and Bylaws at any time, the provisions of the Constitution will take precedence.

Constitution Article I: The Association

Section 1 Name

The name of this self-governing organization is the InternationalAssociation for Language Learning Technology, hereafterreferred to as IALL.

Section 2 Purpose

IALL is a professional, non-profit membership organization working toward the goal ofimproving language instruction through the use of technology.Its purpose is to promote more effective use and a betterunderstanding of technology-based instruction in languageresource centers at all levels of education and training.

Section 3 Membership

Any person or organization interested inthe purposes and objectives of IALL may become a member uponpayment of membership fees as provided in the Bylaws forclasses of membership established by the Council.

Section 4

No part of the net earnings of IALL shall inure to the benefit of,or be distributed to its members, trustees, officers, or otherprivate persons, except that the Association shall beauthorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation forservices rendered and to make payments and distributions infurtherance of the purposes set forth in Article II of thisConstitution. No substantial part of the activities of IALLshall be the carrying on of propaganda or otherwise attemptingto influence legislation. IALL shall not participate in orintervene in (including the publication or distribution ofstatements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidatefor public office.

Article II: Governance and Officers Section

1 Governance

The determination of policy and the direction ofaffairs of IALL are the responsibility of an Executive Boardand a Council whose members are elected or appointed andfunction as described in this Constitution and in the Bylaws.Every member of the Executive Board and Council must be amember in good standing of IALL.

Section 2 Executive Board

TheExecutive Board of IALL consists of five elected officers: aPresident, a President-Elect, a Secretary/Parliamentarian, aPrograms Director, and a Business Manager. The President-Electserves for two years in that capacity, followed by two years asPresident and a further two years as Immediate Past-President.The Secretary/Parliamentarian and Programs Director are electedfor a term of two years; the term of the Business Manager isfour years.

Section 3 Council

The Council consists of membersof the Executive Board, the Immediate Past-President, a JournalEditor, an Advertising Manager/Vendor Relations Chair, aManaging Editor, a Professional Services Chair, the Presidentsof Regional Groups and Affiliates, the Chairs of StandingCommittees and others as identified in the Bylaws. With theapproval of the Executive Board, the President appoints theJournal Editor, the Advertising Manager/Vendor Relations Chair,the Managing Editor, the Professional Services Chair, andothers as defined in the Bylaws. Unless otherwise specified inthe Bylaws, they are appointed for a term of two years; andthey may be reappointed.

Section 4 Elections

The electedofficers of IALL are elected by the membership of theassociation. Nominations of officers and voting by themembership take place as described in the Bylaws. The Presidentis the person elected as President-Elect by the membership inthe prior election. If the President cannot serve out the fullterm, the President-Elect will complete the unexpired term andcontinue through the next term. The President-Elect, theSecretary/Parliamentarian, and the Business Manager are electedby the membership. In the event that the President-Elect cannotserve out the term, both a President and President-Elect willbe nominated and elected at the time of the next election. Whena vacancy other than President occurs on the Executive Board,the Council will approve a member recommended by the Presidentto fill the remainder of the unexpired term of that officer. Inthe event that both the President and the President-Elect areunable to serve, the Council will elect one of its members toserve as the presiding officer of IALL. Approval to fill avacancy is determined by simple majority vote.

Section 5 Policy

The Executive Board determines official policy of IALL.Policy resolutions may be drafted and submitted by the Council,any member, or any others interested in the more effective useand understanding of language learning laboratories. Theseresolutions will be considered by the Executive Board and maybe adopted as official policy of IALL.

Section 6 Regional Groups and Affiliates

Regional Groups of IALL may be organizedupon the recommendation of the Executive Board and approval ofthe Council, according to procedures established in the Bylaws.Any active state, regional, national or internationalorganization whose interests and purposes are similar to thoseof IALL may become affiliated with IALL, as provided in theBylaws, for the purpose of working together more effectively inthe achievement of common goals.

Section 7 Publication of Constitution and Bylaws

The Constitution and Bylaws shall bereviewed periodically by the Executive Board, and published anddistributed to the membership.

Article III: Amendments

Section 1 Proposals for Constitutional Amendments from the ExecutiveBoard and Council

Proposals to amend the Constitution mustreceive a majority vote of the Council, and with the ExecutiveBoard's recommendation, must be submitted to a vote by themembership.

Section 2 Proposals for Constitutional Amendmentsfrom the Membership.

Proposals for amending the Constitutionmay be submitted to the President by a petition signed by fivepercent of active members of IALL. After validating thesignatures of the petition, the Immediate Past-President willtake the necessary steps to present the proposed amendment to awritten-ballot vote by the membership.

Section 3 Effective Date

An amendment to the Constitution becomes effective whenit has been approved by no less than two-thirds of the ballotsreturned to and counted by the Immediate Past President.

Section 4 Amendments to Bylaws

Specific procedure,regulations, and guidelines for IALL are established in theBylaws under the direction of the Council. The Bylaws andamendments to the Bylaws become effective when they areapproved by a majority vote of the Council. Revisions of theBylaws should be announced to the membership. Bylaws (Sectionnumbers in the bylaws correspond to section numbers in theconstitution to which they refer.)

Article I: The Association

Section 2.1 Purpose and Goals

The International Associationfor Language Learning Technology (hereafter referred to asIALL) brings together individuals, organizations andinstitutions that are actively engaged in improving languagelearning through technology. IALL is an all-inclusiveAssociation that values differences in people and diversitywithin our organization and the profession. IALL does notdiscriminate against any individual or group and supports fairtreatment of all peoples within our diverse cultures andprofession. IALL provides opportunities for the membership toenhance their professional productivity and creativity. Itsfocus is on the improvement of the learning and teachingenvironment, including staffing, facilities, and media (audio,video, and computer) resources. The goal of IALL is tofacilitate more effective learning through the improvedmanagement and use of the learning laboratory and other formsof technology-based instruction. To accomplish this goal, IALL:

Section 2.1.1

Has established a member association in order toprovide communication among professionals in the field oftechnology-based language instruction. Members includedirectors of language laboratories or language media centers,supervisors, teachers and others whose interests andassignments bring them in contact with the administration oroperation of technology-based learning programs in languageeducation and training.

Section 2.1.2

Encourages research anddevelopment of improved methods, procedures and technologieswhich enhance the use of the language learning laboratory inmore effective instruction.

Section 2.1.3

Publishes a journal,The IALL Journal of Language Learning Technologies, and anewsletter, the IALL News Review, with articles and informationin support of IALL's purpose and goals.

Section 2.1.4

Holds anannual meeting, presents a biennial conference, and sponsorssessions at other international, national and regional meetingsto provide a forum for the presentation of recent developmentsin using technology effectively in language teaching andlearning.

Section 2.1.5

Maintains a Professional ServicesCenter that distributes IALL-sponsored publications in printand on tape which are pertinent to the profession.

Section2.1.6

Develops productive relationships and maintains regularcommunication with other professional associations andorganizations having similar or complementary purposes.

Section2.1.7

Provides a Membership Directory.

Section 3.1 Membership

There are four classes of membership in IALL: Educational,Student, Library, and Commercial.

Section 3.2

Educationalmembership is open to all directors, supervisors, teachers andother instructional personnel interested in technology andlanguage instruction. Section 3.2.1 Active Educational membersare entitled to vote, hold office, and receive all appropriateservices. Section 3.3 Student membership is open to allindividuals enrolled as full-time students at either thegraduate or undergraduate level. The student must be sponsoredby a current, non-student member of IALL. Student members ofIALL are entitled to the same privileges as Educationalmembers. Section 3.4 Educational institutions/agencies andlibraries may become Library members of IALL to receive a copyof the Journal, but without the right to vote. Section 3.5Publishers, manufacturers, and other commercial organizationsmay become Commercial members of IALL without the right tovote. Section 3.6 The annual dues are determined by theExecutive Board. The membership year runs from January 1 toDecember 31. Article II: Governance and Officers Section 2.2All terms begin at the end of the business meeting during whichofficers are installed. Section 2.3 Duties of elected officersare as follows: Section 2.3.1 The President acts as theexecutive head of IALL, presides at all IALL business meetings,including those of the Executive Board, Council and GeneralMembership, and carries out the instructions of the ExecutiveBoard and Council. The President appoints all non-electedmembers of the IALL council with Board approval, and newmembers of the Election Committee. Section 2.3.2 ThePresident-Elect works with the President to initiate new ideasand directions for IALL and represents the President wheneverthe latter so requests. She/He is responsible for gathering anddisseminating organizational news and acts as liaison withRegional Groups. In the absence or disability of the President,the President-Elect performs the duties and exercises thepowers of the President. Section 2.3.3 TheSecretary/Parliamentarian records and prepares minutes ofproceedings for all Board, Council and Membership meetings andconference calls; and she/he acts as official Parliamentarian.The minutes of all meetings and conference calls are to bedistributed to all Board members and copies are to be madeavailable to other IALL members upon request. She/He maintainsthe current copies of the IALL Constitution and Bylaws, jobdescriptions, and operating procedures and distributes them asneeded. The Secretary/Parliamentarian performs other duties asprescribed by the Executive Board or by the President. Section2.3.4 The Business Manager is the custodian of all IALL funds.He/She collects membership dues, fees and other money due toIALL and pays bills owed by IALL. He/She maintains the officialIALL address, acts as the designated contact for informationabout IALL, and maintains and distributes the membership list.The Business Manager coordinates the financial affairs of theJournal Committee and Professional Services Committee andmaintains records on IALL-purchased equipment and software.He/She prepares an annual budget for review by the ExecutiveBoard during the Summer Meeting, presents mid-year and year-endreports, submits the books for audit every four years, andpreserves the financial records of the Association andtransmits them to his/her successor. Section 2.3.5 The ProgramsDirector is responsible to the Executive Board for organizingall conference programs for the Association. The ProgramsDirector recruits and coordinates affiliate representatives forall conferences where IALL sponsors sessions. The ProgramsDirector acts as Columnist for the IALL Journal; He/She editsthe conference reports of affiliate representatives and submitsthem to the Journal editor for publication. Via his/her workwith the affiliate representatives, the Programs Directoractively encourages qualified conference presenters to publishtheir work in the IALL Journal. Section 4.1 Election Committee.During each election year an Election Committee consisting ofthree members will be constituted to prepare a slate ofcandidates for IALL's elective offices. The ImmediatePast-President, who serves as Chair, recruits two members atlarge to serve on the committee and submits their names forapproval by the Board and official appointment by the Presidentby September 1. Section 4.2 Election Process. A slate ofcandidates and ballot are to be mailed out to the entiremembership at least sixty days before the newly electedofficers are to begin their term in office. Results of theelection are announced at the annual business meeting and inthe Journal. The Immediate Past-President prepares the ballots,mails them to the members, tallies the votes, reports theresults to the Board and the membership, and conducts theinstallation ceremony on the following schedule: September 15,call for nominations; October 15, close of nominations; January15, slate of candidates presented to board; February 15,mailing of ballots; March 15, return of ballots; April 15,announcement of election results; closing ceremony of biennialconference, installation of new officers. Section 5.1 Policy.Official policy must exclude reference to commercialmanufacturers, i.e., no product endorsements. However,exceptional situations which may affect the integrity of theorganization and the profession (such as fraud or purposefulmisrepresentation) may be considered for policy adoption uponnotification of such intent in the IALL Journal and anappropriate discussion at the next scheduled annual meeting.Section 6.1 Groups. Local or regional Groups may be franchisedupon approval of the Council after petitioning the ExecutiveBoard with a minimum of ten signatures. Section 6.1.1 The Groupleader must be a member in good standing of IALL. Section 6.1.2Each Group is responsible for its own structure, providing thatthis structure does not violate the Constitution or Bylaws ofIALL. Section 6.1.3 Each Group must maintain a minimummembership of ten and hold at least one meeting per year. Eachgroup must publish one newsletter per year (with copies to besent to other regional group leaders, all IALL Board members,the IALL Journal Editor, and all IALL members in their area).Groups may be disenfranchised by action of the Council whenthey fail to maintain adequate membership or activity. Section6.1.4 Regional Groups may apply to IALL for an annual subsidy.The Groups are entitled to receive $2 per IALL member withinthe region, whether or not they are members of the RegionalGroup, and $2 for each Board member and each Regional Groupleader. Section 6.2 Affiliates. Upon approval by the Councilindependent organizations with similar goals and activities maybe granted affiliate status with IALL. The Council determinesthe appropriateness of the affiliation and the provisions ofthe affiliation. Likewise, The Council may initiate affiliationof IALL with another organization in keeping with the goals ofIALL. Section 7.1 Publication of Constitution and Bylaws. TheEditor of the IALL Journal must publish the Constitution andthe Bylaws in the Journal at least once every five years.Section 7.1.1 Approved amendments to the Constitution or Bylawsmust be published in the issue of the Journal following theiradoption.